Toronto Star
· collected 2026-10-05 · by Kirk Kern The Associated Press
Chase Briscoe won the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, leading a race-high 175 laps and securing a crucial victory that keeps him competitive for the NASCAR Cup Series championship. Despite facing challenges from lapped cars and a late charge by points leader Kyle Larson, Briscoe managed to hold off the competition and maintain sixth place in the standings, reducing his deficit to Larson to 80 points. The win also highlights Joe Gibbs Racing’s strong performance on intermediate tracks, providing Briscoe with renewed hope for future races leading up to the season finale.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Chase Briscoe won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, sweeping all three stages to earn 75 playoff points. Leading a race-high 175 laps, Briscoe held off a late charge from Kyle Larson, who lost control and hit the wall in the final stretch, causing a collision with Tyler Reddick. Despite finishing third after sliding into the infield, Reddick managed to recover. This victory moved Briscoe up to sixth in The Chase standings and kept his championship hopes alive heading into the season's final stretch.
Written for “NASCAR Race In Las Vegas” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
If anyone thought Chase Briscoe was going to quietly slip out of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff picture, they clearly forgot to factor in his intermediate track pedigree.
asserted
they → think → pedigree
Holding off a furious late-race charge from current points leader Kyle Larson and dicing through dense lapped traffic, Briscoe cashed in a jackpot performance at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to win the South Point 400.
asserted
Briscoe → hold → Point
The victory wasn’t just a validation of Joe Gibbs Racing’s 1.5-mile program — it kept Briscoe’s championship hopes alive heading into the final stretch of the season.
asserted
it → keep → season
Leading a race-high 175 laps, Briscoe managed the clean-air dynamics flawlessly, executing a sweep of Stage 1 and Stage 2 to collect a maximum 75 total race points.
asserted
Briscoe → lead → points
With fewer than 35 laps to go, a thick wall of lapped traffic stacked up, threatening to erase Briscoe’s lead.
asserted
wall → go → lead
A charging pack that included Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, and Larson closed the gap to bumper-to-bumper margins.
asserted
that → charge → margins
“I thought I was in big trouble,” Briscoe said.
asserted
Briscoe → think → trouble
“I made a pretty late block on Bubba entering Turn 1.
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I → make → Turn
He was an inch away from getting me, and if that happens, I don’t win.
asserted
I → get → me
Once you lose that clean air, it’s just so hard to get back.”
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it → lose → air
For Briscoe and crew chief James Small, the victory provided redemption after a string of near-misses and point losses in recent weeks.
asserted
victory → provide → weeks
Entering Las Vegas facing a 123-point deficit, winning was virtually the only currency that mattered.
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that → enter → deficit
Briscoe jumped from eighth to sixth in the standings with the win and is 80 points behind Larson.
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Briscoe → jump → Larson
“If we can have more solid weeks, anything’s possible,” Small said.
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Small → have → weeks
“We’ve still got some really good tracks coming up for us, so we’re definitely not out of it.
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we → get → it
Phoenix is gonna be a great track for us, and we get Homestead.”
asserted
we → go → Homestead
Briscoe isn’t ready to concede his place in the title hunt, either.
asserted
Briscoe → concede → hunt
“It’s still a long way to go, but we kept ourselves in the ball game,” Briscoe said.
asserted
Briscoe → ’ → game
“When you go home on Monday, you just want to wake up and mathematically still be in the mix.
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you → go → mix
We still have a couple of irons in the fire.”
asserted
We → have → fire
Larson rallies to make up ground
Early in the race, Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports entry suffered handling issues that required a lengthy 26-second green-flag pit stop for rear suspension adjustments.
asserted
that → rally → adjustments
The setback dropped Larson a lap down and back to 32nd position.
asserted
setback → drop → position
Yet Larson clawed his way back.
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Larson → claw → way
After regaining the lead lap under caution, Larson cut through the field over 200 laps, ultimately mounting a high-line assault on Briscoe over the final four laps.
asserted
Larson → regain → laps
“For the first half of Stage 1, our balance was completely off,” Larson said.
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Larson → say → Stage
“The rear suspension felt super tight and we were just fighting the car every lap.
asserted
we → feel → car
Cliff (Daniels) and the guys made a huge adjustment under pit stops during that caution on Lap 45 to get us back on the lead lap.
asserted
Cliff → make → lap
Once we got the balance back, the car really came alive in the second half of the race.”
asserted
car → get → race
The Cup Series continues its playoff schedule on Sunday on the 1.5-mile oval at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.
asserted
Series → continue → Concord
Larson holds a 40-point advantage over second-place Denny Hamlin, with Christopher Bell 55 points back.
asserted
Bell → hold → Hamlin
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